Time perspective in vocational maturity and career decision making

This study investigated the hypothesis that time perspective is a component in vocational maturity and career decision making. Ninety-seven college freshmen responded to two measures of time perspective and seven measures selected to represent attitudinal vocational maturity, cognitive vocational maturity, and career decision making. The nine variables were intercorrelated and the resulting matrix was subjected to alpha factor analysis. Three factors were extracted and titled Attitudinal Vocational Maturity, Cognitive Vocational Maturity, and Career Decision Making. As predicted, time perspective was a component in the Attitudinal Vocational Maturity and Career Decision-Making factors. The results supported the hypothesis and specifically linked time perspective to planfulness and degree of indecision.     

MODIFICATION OF ACTIVITY LEVEL THROUGH BIOFEEDBACK AND OPERANT CONDITIONING1

The biomotometer, an electronic device that simultaneously measures activity and provides auditory feedback to the subject, was used in combination with material reinforcers in two experiments attempting to modify activity level in children. In the first study the activity level of an 11-year-old highly active boy was decreased below mean baseline during conditioning in a classroom setting. His level of activity returned to baseline when feedback was withdrawn. In the second study, activity level of a 10-year-old hypoactive boy was increased over mean baseline level during conditioning in a free-play setting, and returned to slightly below baseline during five extinction trials. Results of these studies indicate that the biomotometer is a useful instrument for modification of activity level.     

Critique of Scarr and Weinberg's IQ adaption study: Putting the problem in perspective

In the first part of this article, Scarr and Weinberg's results are compared to those of similar studies and there is found to be considerable congruence despite the uniqueness of the Scarr and Weinberg sample. This comparison provides a perspective for understanding some of the problems raised by Scarr and Weinberg. The second part looks to the future and suggests that the major contribution of behavioral genetics in psychology may be to increase our understanding of the environment. Examples supporting this prediction are the concepts of genotype-environment interaction, genotype-environment correlation, environmental variance between and within families, and the “structure” of environmental influences in behavior.     

BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH IN PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY: EDUCATIONAL AND CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT APPROACHES TO THE PROBLEM OF PATIENT COMPLIANCE

This study examined the effects of reinforcement on compliance with an oral hygiene education program. Patients 18 years of age or older who enrolled in an ongoing program at a periodontal practice received 3–5 sessions of instruction in preventive dental care. Using a between-subjects design, patients who entered the program during alternating months also had a portion of their fees refunded contingent upon improvements in their dental plaque scores. Pre- and posttreatment data showed that all subjects exhibited lower plaque levels following the program, but that greater improvements were seen in patients who were exposed to the fee reduction contingency. Plaque scores taken at a 6-month follow-up revealed some relapse for the Fee Reduction subjects. However, their scores were still substantially better than pretreatment, and better than those of the Education only subjects, whose data differed little from untreated Controls. Methodological and practical issues related to behavioral research in preventive dentistry are discussed.     

Newborn behavioral observations system in rural Pakistan: A feasibility and acceptability study

The Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) system is a relationship-based tool that helps parents recognize their infant's competencies and learn their behavioral cues, with the goals of enhancing parental responsiveness and satisfaction in the infant-parent relationship. In our study, a pediatrician integrated the NBO into 44 pediatric health care visits of infants in rural Pakistan villages, under the remote guidance of two U.S.-based child psychiatrists. A clinician then gave the mothers a survey about their experience of the NBO and found that the mothers were highly satisfied, reporting greater appreciation of their infant's strengths, greater understanding of their infant's behavioral cues, stronger attachment to their infant, and greater self-confidence as a mother. In their consideration of these results, the authors explore cultural reasons for the mothers’ responses and generate hypotheses to inform an outcome study of a similar intervention. This was a feasibility and acceptability study and was not randomized, had no control group, and did not use objective measures of outcome.     

Military psychology in the age of managed care: The Wilford Hall model

Military medicine is currently being overhauled through Tricare, a comprehensive, managed care program designed to reduce costs and increase clients' access to health care. This article presents reforms initiated by the psychologists at Wilford Hall Medical Center, the largest military hospital in the world, in response to Tricare. These reforms have resulted in adult, outpatient services that are immediately accessible, effective, and cost efficient. The Wilford Hall approach to psychological services is offered as model that can be used in other outpatient settings. Additionally, potential limitations of this approach to psychological care are presented.     

The past,present, and future of the biopsychosocial model: A review of The Biopsychosocial Model of Health and Disease: New philosophical and scientific developments by Derek Bolton and Grant Gillett

Health psychology is a growing field generating exciting advances in theory, research, and applications that significantly improve the lives of individuals, shape the medical profession, and inform global public policy. For over 40 years, the field has been guided by the biopsychosocial model (Engel, 1977), an interdisciplinary and multifaceted model that posits the interrelations among the biological, psychological, and socio-environmental influences on health and disease. The theoretical implications and empirical research that it has generated have been vast. In The Biopsychosocial Model of Health and Disease: New philosophical and scientific developments, Derek Bolton and Grant Gillett (2019) present a summary of four decades of scholarship. They conclude that the model has fallen short clinically, scientifically, and philosophically. Although their book is timely, well-written, thought-provoking, and designed to highlight weaknesses that could drive science and practice forward, their criticisms are not fully convincing and are open to debate. The contributions this book could make may be to challenge a new generation of scholars and scientists to demonstrate that the biopsychosocial model is more relevant than ever, especially as areas such as social genomics, psychoneuroimmunology, health disparities, and global health become more important. Despite interesting philosophical challenges presented by Bolton and Gillett, theory, research, and practice focused on health, disability, illness, and wellness should remain grounded in the biopsychosocial model.